ALBANY — U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko, still celebrating his role in securing $99 million in federal funding for high-speed internet service in New York state, is now seeking even more federal dollars for the effort.
Tonko included a provision in the $1.4 trillion omnibus spending bill passed by the House that would fund an additional $730 million in broadband subsidies for companies to expand into mostly poor rural areas not served by large cable TV providers like Spectrum and Verizon.
The funding is part of a $20 billion incentive program overseen by the Federal Communications Commission to encourage companies to build or expand their network to places like the Hill Towns in Albany County, where cheap and fast internet access is difficult to come by.
The FCC held a reverse auction where companies submit bids to build out their networks in certain areas of the country at the lowest price possible using federal subsidies. SpaceX, the satellite and rocket technology company started by Elon Musk, won $886 million in FCC subsidies to bring to rural areas its new SpaceLink satellite internet service that is expected to be almost as fast as service found in cities and suburbs, where cable TV companies have focused most of their investment over the years.
Dawn Jordan, a former board member of the Town of Berne, said that one of the biggest problems with serving the Hill Towns is the difficult terrain that traditional cable TV firms have to build over, which is extremely expensive. And when companies have offered the service, speeds have been underwhelming. In its beta launch of its satellite internet service, SpaceX is promising speeds of more than 100 megabits per second for $99 a month, and a one-time equipment charge of $499, although it’s unclear if that would be the price in New York.
“It would be interesting to investigate if the SpaceX satellite would be able to reach those areas,” Jordan said.
“This pandemic has further exposed gaps in broadband access across our nation that have hindered economic growth and development for underserved communities for far too long,” Tonko said of his latest push for more funding. “Across our own Capital Region, I have heard from doctors stalled in delivering telehealth services, students struggling to complete and submit school work, and business owners unable to connect with consumers online. These are just a handful of the millions of Americans living without broadband access.”
Congress has passed the $1.4 trillion omnibus spending bill along with a $900 billion coronavirus stimulus package, although President Donald Trump has threatened to veto the emergency spending that is needed to avert a federal government shutdown around the holidays.
